Don Sutton
|debutdate=April 14 |debutyear=1966 |debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers |finaldate=August 9 |finalyear=1988 |finalteam=Los Angeles Dodgers |stat1label=Win-Loss |stat1value=324-256 |stat2label=ERA |stat2value=3.26 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=3574 |teams= *Los Angeles Dodgers(1966-1980, 1988) *Houston Astros (1981-1982) *Milwaukee Brewers (1982-1984) *Oakland Athletics (1985) *California Angels (1985-1987) |highlights= *All-star in 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 (MVP in 1977) *Sporting New Rookie Pitcher of the Year (1966) *Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1976) *Shutout Leader in 1972 with 9 *ERA Leader in 1980 with 2.20 |hofdate=1998 |hofvote=81.6% }} Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945 in Clio, Alabama) is a former Major League Baseball player and current television sportscaster. A right-handed pitcher, Sutton played for the Sioux Falls Packers as a minor leaguer, and entered the major league at the age of 21. In the majors, he played 23 years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. He won a total of 324 games, 58 of them shutouts and five of them one-hitters, and he is eighth on baseball's all-time strikeout list with 3,574 K's. He also holds the major league record for number of consecutive losses to one team, having lost 13 straight games to the Chicago Cubs. He was known for doctoring baseballs. His nickname was "Black & Decker"; legend has it that when Sutton met notorious greaseballer Gaylord Perry, Perry handed him a tube of Vaseline, and Sutton responded with a thank-you, then handed him a sheet of sandpaper. A 4-time All-Star, Sutton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. His candidacy and subsequent election were controversial, with critics pointing out that he had never won a Cy Young Award, had won 20 games only once, and had rarely led his league in any statistical category. However, supporters noted that no pitcher with either 300 victories or 3000 strikeouts had ever failed to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and that his 324 wins were, at the time of his retirement, the most by any right-handed pitcher since the 1920s, and many pitchers with worse records were in the Hall of Fame. Stats * Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) * Weight: 185 lb (85 kg) * Throws: Right * Bats: Right * Wins: 324 - Losses: 256 * Lifetime ERA: 3.26 * Total Innings: 5,282.1 * Strikeouts: 3,574 * One-Hitters: 5 * Two-Hitters: 9 * All-time Dodger leader in: ** Wins (233) ** Games Pitched (550) ** Games Started (533) ** Innings Pitched (3,814) ** Strikeouts (2,696) ** Shutouts (52) ** Opening Day Starts (7) * LC Series Games ** Record: 4-1 ** ERA: 2.02 ** Total Innings: 49 * World Series Games ** Record: 2-3 ** ERA: 5.26 ** Total Innings: 51 * All-Star Games ** ERA: 0.00 ** Total Innings: 8 ** Record 1-0 (NL 4-0) Broadcasting career Sutton started his broadcasting career in 1989 with the Atlanta Braves on TBS, a position that he held through 2006. He left TBS after the 2006 season, mainly because the network will broadcast fewer games in future seasons. Sutton is now a color commentator for the Washington Nationals on the MASN network.http://masn.tv/news/view_press_release.cfm?id=629 Sutton has also broadcast golf and served as a pre- and post-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the 1987 League Championship Series. Trivia Sutton was born on the same date as former Dodger teammate Reggie Smith. He also appeared on episodes of the Match Game between 1976 & 1978. His son, Daron, is a broadcaster for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama, a small town in Barbour County. It can be argued that Sutton is the second most famous person born in Clio, since it is also the birthplace of the late Alabama governor George Wallace. April 14, 1966 was the date of Don Sutton's major league debut. April 14, 1966 is also the same day that Greg Maddux was born. Sutton holds the modern record for most at-bats (1,354) without ever hitting a home run. References See also *List of Washington Nationals broadcasters *List of Atlanta Braves broadcasters * 300 win club * 3000 strikeout club * List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins * List of Major League Baseball ERA champions *Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time External links * * Category:Baseball Hall of Fame Category:National League All-Stars Category:300 win club Category:3000 strikeout club Category:California Angels players Category:Houston Astros players Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:Major league pitchers Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:Atlanta Braves Category:Washington Nationals Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:People from Alabama Category:People from Los Angeles Category:People from Atlanta Category:Major league players from Alabama Category:Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Category:National League ERA champions fr:Don Sutton